In a new feature by Interview Magazine, Matthew talks about his career post-Potter including Me Before You, Happy Valley and more! The interview also comes with a new photoshoot which can be seen in the gallery.

When discussing what types of roles he likes, he said:

“Some of the more interesting characters are the ones that aren’t heroic, that aren’t James Bond-esque,” Lewis explains over the phone. “I quite like the interesting ones, so I never really say, ‘I won’t do that, I won’t do this’ or ‘I want to do this or that.’ I like to keep an open mind… [I’m interested in] the idea of people wanting to discuss something that’s happened in their life or that’s impacted or changed them,” he continues. “On the flip side of that, sometimes it’s nice to do something that’s fun, a movie where people are going to come in, and switch off for an hour and a half. I feel like if you can do one of those two things, if you can tell a great story that affects people or you can make them have fun, then you’re doing all right.”

He also talks about his latest roles as Patrick in Me Before You and Sean in Happy Valley‘s second series.’

What was your reaction to your character, Patrick, when you read Me Before You? I know Jojo Moyes also wrote the screenplay, but was there more in the book than in the script? It was quite different. In the book, Patrick is a bit of a dick. He is obviously very focused on himself; he’s self-centered and won’t give a whole lot of time to Louisa’s needs, wants, and potential in life. We wanted to keep the inherent features of Patrick in the movie but we wanted to make it a little bit less black-and-white, a bit more ambiguous as to her ultimate decision. We wanted to see more of a reason why Louisa was with Patrick for the seven years. In the book, it’s so heavily focused Lou and Will’s story, which is brilliant, but it was nice in the film to round off Patrick a little more. They weren’t right for each other—he was not right for her and he was holding her back—but we wanted to show that there was a reason why they were together in the first place and that her decision to ultimately make that leap was a lot tougher than you think it is. It can be a scary thing to suddenly leave your life behind and say, “I’m going to go and realize my full potential.” It can be quite daunting and we wanted to convey that.

I’d like to talk a bit about Happy Valley because Sean is such a dark character. What was the most challenging part of taking on that role? There were a few. It was very unlike anything I’d done before. One of the early things that I had to get over was that I was such a huge fan of the first series and a huge fan of Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire, and everyone involved in the production, really. I had to shake that fear and that pressure of coming into the second series of a show that’s so spectacular and BAFTA Award-winning; you’ve got a responsibility to uphold that quality. There were quite a few nerves involved with that for the few months of preparation for it. I just wanted to make sure that I did it justice.

Then it was just the idea of trying to get into Sean’s mind. Luckily, for me, Sally understands her characters very well; she has vivid images of where they’ve come from, where they’re going, why they do what they do, etcetera. I had to pick at her brain and find Sean’s motivation, which was daunting for sure, but it all helped in trying to create this character—this young man who is very, very lost. You don’t play him as the bad guy; you just play what’s on the page and you play his life, and his life was that he moved from town to town, no one had really ever given a shit about him, he’s got a very bad temper and often he regrets that. He drinks a lot and he can’t remember and it’s that frustration more than anything. The anger is a result of the frustration and once you realize that, the rest of it starts to fall into place.

Matt also discussed his hometown of Leeds and his family:

What was it like to grow up in Leeds? Were you involved in acting and performing pretty early on? I started when I was five. It was basically the vast majority of my childhood. I went to a drama group, which was also an agency in Leeds, and I did a lot of Northern television. The North is a pretty decent place for television in the U.K.; they make a lot of things up there. Happy Valley was shot around the area where I grew up. I was really fortunate from a young age to be able to work quite consistently on things up in the North. Harry Potter came around at [age] 11 and I spent a lot of time down south filming it in Watford, near London, but I always went home on weekends back to Leeds. That place is very close to my heart and I have a lot of friends there. I’m [also] big fan of the sports team, the Leeds Rhinos. I see it less often than I’d like but I do try and get back whenever I can.

Is anyone in your family in the film or television industry? My older brother, Anthony Lewis, is an actor and he started first when we was about eight years old and I was about two. My mother had to chaperone him on jobs and then, my being two-years-old, I got taken along as well. So I sort of grew up being around it and I just wanted to copy my brother and carry on. Now, 22 years later, both Anthony and I are actors and our oldest brother Christopher has since gone into the industry behind the camera as an editor.

Fans in North America will be happy to learn that Happy Valley series 2 will be available on Netflix starting this Wednesday, March 16th. All six episodes will be available to view in the U.S. and Canada! Matthew Lewis stars as Sean Balmforth in the highly rated second series of the BBC show.

In season two, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) — the man she believes is responsible for her daughter’s death — is now behind bars, but he continues to haunt Catherine as she rebuilds her life. Meanwhile, detective John Wadsworth (Kevin Doyle) has his own set of problems, and despite being in prison, Tommy forms a bond with a mysterious female admirer (Shirley Henderson).

The series finale of Happy Valley will be airing tomorrow at 21:00 on BBC One.

Matthew Lewis was a guest in ITV’s This Morning on Monday to promote Ripper Street. The show has put a couple segments up on their Youtube page, which you can watch below. The full episode will be available for 5 more days, for fans in the UK, at this link.

Matthew Lewis was a guest on this morning’s BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw to talk about Happy Valley, Ripper Street, Harry Potter and more! To listen to the interview visit BBC Radio1’s website and skip to 2 hours and 35 minutes into the show for Matt’s segment. The first part goes through 2 hours and 41 minutes and he returns from 2:45 to 2:52.

The premiere date for Happy Valley series 2 has finally been announced. The show will air on BBC One on Tuesday February 9th. Matt will be playing Sean Balmforth. Read an interview Matthew did with the BBC here. A teaser for the show, which does not feature Matthew, may be viewed below: